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“Mercenariesdied,” Javer corrected me. “Not people. Blades for hire. They knew what they were getting into. They shouldn’t have been in this line of work if they didn’t.”
“Did they?” I demanded. “Did they really understand? You told them they’d be facing someone with uncontrollable magic who might mercilessly burn them all to death?”
“From what I saw, you controlled yourself quite well,” Javer replied. “After all, Odessa and Crescent are still standing. In fact, I’d say you held back too long. I would recommend acting more swiftly the next time. Not waiting until your friend almost dies with a boot to his throat.”
I looked past Javer at Beks. “You. You told him what we saw.”
Beks looked as if he were about to cry.
“It’s all right, Beks,” I said wearily. “It’s not your fault.”
Instead of looking relieved, Beks burst into tears, then whirled away and ran back down the alley.
“The boy is fond of you,” Javer observed. “We could work together, the three of us. I could train you both.”
I clenched my jaw. I took a menacing step forward and Javer backed up one. “Never. I will never work with you. You almost got Odessa and Crescent killed today. And for what? Do you even care?”
“It’s their job to protect you. I’m sure the prince would be eager to know how quickly they failed. And we’ve learned a great deal from this, you and I,” Javer said, not even glancing after Beks. “As I suspected, you have a notable flaw.”
If I roasted Javer where he stood, would anyone care? Would Draven chastise me? I knew the empire needed shielders, but just how much trouble would I be in?
I curled my hands into fists then slowly uncurled them, feeling Javer’s eyes on me. “Oh? And what’s that? Caring for other people?”
Javer tilted his head then lifted his huge, eagle-like wings behind him. The feathers fluttered impressively, then folded back again. I recalled what Odessa had told me. He had wings but could not fly.
He also had a heart he wasn’t using.
“You care, yes, but not about yourself. Your sense of self-preservation is dangerously lacking.” Javer’s black eyes were shrewd as he looked at me calculatingly. “Tell me something. On the two occasions prior to this when you used your powers, was it in your own defense or in defense of someone you cared about?”
My mind raced. The first time was in Nethervale. I had been protecting myself and Draven. Would I have been able to access my powers so swiftly if I hadn’t known that Draven was lying there behind me, utterly defenseless?
The second time... I was in Meridium. Vesper had already stabbed me once. And Draven... Draven was coming. Vesper was going to ambush him. Strangle him with a wire. A coward’s attack.
I’d stopped him. But I hadn’t saved myself.
No, Draven had saved me. Somehow, he had gotten me back to the palace in time to reach a healer.
Javer was watching me steadily. “As I thought. You used your powers to save the prince both times.”
“I didn’t fucking say that,” I snarled.
Nearby, I saw Odessa nervously step back. I didn’t blame her.
“You didn’t have to. It’s written all over your face.” Javer’s face twisted into a smile. “The word you refused to say to Avriel. It's what drives you to use your powers. You won’t use them otherwise, not even for your own good. How absolutely charming. How incredibly fascinating. But of course, that has to change.”
He nodded past me to where Crescent was slowly rising, his sister’s arm wrapped around his waist. “I wouldn’t have let anything actually happen to him, you know. Beks and I were close by. We would have shielded you all before it came to that.”
My face contorted with fury. “I don’t believe you. Look at Odessa. Just look at her!” I took a step towards Javer, backing him up against a wall. “You egotistical, abusive, maniacal bastard. You might have killed us all and for what? To prove a fucking point?”
“What the hell is going on here?”
I whirled around.
Draven had entered the alleyway. Behind him Ulpheas followed at a slower pace.
I watched Ulpheas’s baby-blue eyes expand as he looked around him, taking in the crumbling buildings and charred bodies.
“Morgan.” Draven reached me and gripped my shoulders. “Are you all right?” His face hardened as he looked past me to Javer. “What the hell happened here?”
